Despite the fact that I was still traumatized from the time I took them to see Aladdin (full gory details here), I’d promised the kids that I’d take them to the movies to see Toy Story 4. We’d already watched 1-3 on Netflix like I’ve mentioned earlier (Popcorn Paragraph), so everything was still fresh for us. Plus, “Summer Camp” was over and the poor devils were getting restless.

ELF were having a 50% off Sale, but only on select items (mostly Tools and Brushes and some of their less expensive products).

As usual, none of the newer items were included. So, I used up my Beauty Reward Points (every $1 spent at ELF = 1 Beauty Point) to activate the “Choose Your Own Sale Day” (15% – 25% off) option. That way, I could purchase the other items I wanted (that had not been included in the 50% off Sale) at a discounted price too! I also used up my Beauty Reward Points to redeem several items (got them for free).

I listed both the original price and the reduced price, next to each item and in parenthesis listed whether the item was part of the 50% off Sale or if I had used “Beauty Points” (ELF’s Loyalty Program). Instead of being $175 the total was $100.75 (well, $109.69 with tax) which was KD 30 (about KD 33 with tax).

Shortly after I placed this order, ELF released a whole slew of new products. So, it’s safe to assume that every time they had a 50% Sale, they were most probably going to be releasing new stuff, soon after.

ELF (Eyes Lips Face) were having a 20% off $20 and 30% off $30 and 40% off $40 and 50% off $50 promo going on (the promo excluded the newest of new releases though), towards the end of November and start of December. I jumped on that deal and ordered a few things that based on my previous experience, probably wouldn’t survive shipping during the Summer (it can get up to 50 Celsius/131 Fahrenheit over here).

Despite being billed for them and also redeeming my “Beauty Points” (part of ELF’s loyalty program) several items were missing from my order. I didn’t bother contacting ELF though, because even if they did ship the missing items separately, the shipping itself would cost more than the actual items. It just wasn’t cost effective.

Regardless, I managed to get my hands on some things that I’ve been meaning to purchase for a good long while now, but was holding back because of the price. I got some Skincare and Foundation (in several shades), Brow Stuff (in several shades), a few Lip Things and even fewer Makeup Brushes and a ton of Blushes and Bronzers and Highlightsall for half price! The total was $132 which is slightly more than I would’ve preferred to have spent, but I also feel like I saved more in the long run (logic)! I kinda’ went crazy (which is usually the case when ELF knocks their prices down to half off), but 50% off was just too good to pass up!

Order placed: August 22Order shipped from ELF: August 29Order forwarded from US Aramex Mailbox: August 30Order arrived in Kuwait (undergoing clearance): September 2Order received: September 9 (it’s a whole song and dance, I tell ya’)

Just like your average, run-of-the-mill, everday addict, I was craving my next hit of inexpensive makeup (hey, it could be worse). As I said in my previous post (here) ELF had come out with 4 new makeup brushes, in addition to a several very interesting new products. Plus, the Free Gift Set (with orders of $25+) actually seemed worthwhile. Plus, I’d racked up enough points from their loyalty program to spend. Plus, they were giving away a full-sized product as a Free Sample.

I had my eye on several of the creamier makeup products, as well as some skincare, but I was worried that they might go bad or melt in the heat. That’s why I decided to wait until the weather cools down in Kuwait before ordering them and also why this particular order consisted mostly of powder products, makeup brushes and tools (products that were relatively unaffected by heat).

That said, I wasn’t sure that Aramex would even deliver some of the skincare items, especially the sprays (due to shipping restrictions) so just to experiment (test the waters), I ordered a full sized 3.38 fl. oz. (100 mL) Cleanserand a full sized 2.70 fl. oz. (80 mL) Setting Mist, both of which actually made their way to me (yay)!

Since my previous order (haulage here), about 4 months ago, ELF had come out with a bunch of new products (including 4 new Makeup Brushes). At the time of this order, they had a promo which included a Free Plump It Up Gift (3pc) with any $25+ order, in addition to a Free Sample with every purchase. I’d accumulated enough points (you get 50 point just for signing up) to pick out a Free Gift of my choice (from select items). I figured it was worth placing an order right then and taking advantage of all the deals and promos and such. Mostly, I just wanted to give those Makeup Brushes a try!

Generally, I try to stick to a budget of around $100 (otherwise it’d be too easy to go overboard without even realizing it). The subtotal for this order was $100 (minus the $8.87 sales tax), which I felt was close enough to my personal target.

Back in the day, I used to order from ELF (Eyes Lips Face) pretty regularly. To the extent that I actually remember when they only had the Essentials line (everything from Makeup to Makeup Brushes and Tools, even an Eyelash Curler was only$1 and came in flimsy white packaging). Then, they branched out into the Studio line (slightly pricier trendy makeup with sleek black packaging). Then I believe they came out with a mineral range (around the $5 mark and above, with sturdy beige packaging) called Beautifully Bare. Looking at the photo (above) of the haulage, based on the packaging, you can sorta’ tell that a few items are from the Essentials line and a few are from the Beautifully Bare line, while the rest are mostly from the Studio line (black packaging). With that being said, it seems that ELF no longer categorizes them as such, because everything was merged together on their website. If not for the packaging and the price point, I wouldn’t be able to tell which was which.

My first ELF purchase was actually from drugstore.com (around 2007 or so) and it was a bunch of their lip balms in little square tins, lipgloss in littly click-y pens, small circular blush and bronzers, tiny eyeshadow quads, white makeup brushes and even a body lotion, to name a few. Once I figured out I could order directly from the the ELF website, I went ham and ordered every new product they came out with (and they came out with new product pretty regularly!) to the extent that I’m still working my way through all my ELF stuff!

More often than not, some of the products would arrive damaged or literally break apart in my hands, but because of their low price point, I just brushed it off. Also, because twice a year, ELF would have a 50% discount on all their products! If I’d been eyeing up anything from the Studio Line or expensive Beautifully Bare line, I’d wait for the 50% discount because that would be the time when I’d purchase them (way more affordable). Heck, even the $1 line would only cost $0.50 per product! That said, it seems that ELF have increased the price point of their Essentials range by a dollar, which means everything in the Essentials range goes for $2 now. So, it’s safe to assume that they increased the prices for all the other lines as well. Regardless, their products are still extremely budget-friendly! In fact, the total for my entire order was only $109.96 (technically $140 with a $39 discount plus $8.96 for tax).

For whatever reason, I couldn’t order from the ELF website anymore, so I stopped. I’d still try my luck every few months or so, on the off-chance that my order would go through. I was dying to try out some of their newer stuff! I really wanted to get my hands on those stunning Makeup Brushes from the Beautifully Precise line, in particular. Thankfully, after about 2-4 years, my order finally went through!